Cataclysm (Part II)

[November 18th, 20:15 JST]

Ibaraki Prefecture – Outskirt of Ami Town, Inashiki District

The Level 4 CODA lurched, its ruined wings dragging through the dirt as it rose halfway from the crater. Mist hissed between its torn Novium-veins; the hollow ribcage, once covered in swirling mist, had fully dissipated. Its red core was now completely exposed, each breath vibrating with a hunter’s rage.

Reina steadied herself, her stance wavering but holding firm.

“The core… that has to be its weak spot.”

The other girls nodded—they knew what to do.

But before any of them could react, the CODA’s tail suddenly extended and lashed across the ground — a sweeping blur of mist-forged blade.

“Duck!” Reina yelled.

The tail sliced through the trees behind them. Trunks snapped and came crashing down. Mika raised slabs of earth to block the falling trunks, but the impact still thudded violently through the stone.

Reina deepened her resonance through her D-Mic, channeling her focus into her legs as sigils sparked beneath her boots, granting her a burst of speed as she sprinted toward the CODA with a crackling lightning spear forming in her hand.

Behind her, Emi and the others unleashed long-range bombardments to draw the monster’s attention.

Reina seized the opening and hurled her spear straight at the exposed core.

A direct hit.

The lightning spear pierced the red core with a sharp crack, and the CODA let out a strangled cry as its body buckled and collapsed into the dirt.

“Is it… over?” the girls wondered.

But the surrounding fog still lingered, thick and restless.

And the creature’s body did not dissipate.

Takeshi’s voice burst through their earpieces.

“Girls! Multiple Level 1 and Level 2 CODA are converging on your position!”

Despite exhaustion, injuries and scattered breaths, the girls forced themselves upright, their voices humming softly into their D-Mics as they conserved what little strength they had, readying themselves for the crawling silhouettes emerging from the trees.

But the horde didn’t charge at them.

Instead, every one of them lunged toward the fallen Level 4.

The bodies dissolved into black mist the moment they made contact, absorbed straight into the monster’s torso — even though its core had already been shattered.

Reina and the girls stared in horror.

“… This is wrong.” Emi murmured.

They reacted instantly. None of them understood what was happening, but instinct screamed that they couldn’t let the Level 4 continue absorbing the lesser CODA.

Sigils rained around the monster’s body — but this time their targets shifted to the surrounding horde instead of the fallen Level 4. Bolts of thunder, beams of light, bursts of wind, shards of stone, fire, and water tore through the lesser CODA. Even a miniature gravity well tried to drag them away. Many were annihilated, but the swarm didn’t stop; more spilled from the mist, piling forward in an endless wave.

It didn’t take long before the clusters of red hexagonal eyes on the Level 4 flared open again. Its roar returned, deeper and more ferocious than before. Yet, the red in its chest remained shattered.

Takeshi’s voice cut through the comms, tense and unsteady.

“Girls—listen carefully. Its signature just surged. No… It spiked. It’s mutating—something between a Level 4 and Level 5. But the frequency isn’t stable… it’s dropping fast. It’s burning itself alive.”

Before any of them could respond, the Leve 4 slammed its partially regenerated wings downward.

The impact generated a wide, horizontal shockwave — but it wasn’t just air. A crescent-shaped blade of compressed force ripped across the clearing. Invisible for a split second… until Momoko spotted it.

“Jump!” she shouted.

Her sigils lit beneath everyone’s boots and a burst of focused wind launched the entire team upward, barely dodging the sweeping arc below. Reina shot upward as well, the combined force of Momoko’s wind and her own sigils carrying her higher than the rest.

The blade carved through their surroundings, slicing trees clean in half. Even massive boulders and jutting rock formations parted like paper… followed by a delayed, deafening boom that shook the entire forest.

Deciding that close-quarter combat was too dangerous, Reina conjured several lightning spears with what strength she had left and hurled them straight at the Level 4’s head. The barrage struck true, piercing into its cluster of red eyes.

The creature screamed, black mist erupting from the wounds. Its half-regenerated wings twitched violently, its entire body leaking the black vapor that passed for CODA blood. The swarm that had fed it was gone, yet its form flickered like a dying star — even the freshly patched wounds bled mist. Its frantic, desperate breathing said it all: stolen power clinging to a vessel that couldn’t hold it together any longer.

The girls watched the creature closely, fully alert for its next move despite knowing they didn’t have much mana left. Reina’s Veil began to weaken — everyone could feel the strain through the resonance link.

The Level 4 jerked its head skyward. Even with its eyes wounded, Reina and the others felt its gaze shift.

And their hearts froze.

It wasn’t looking at them.

It was looking toward the nearby town, Ami Town.

Reina’s voice broke. “No... no, no—don’t you dare—!”

The creature let out one final screech. A hoarse, distorted cry that sounded nothing like its earlier roars — more like a dying soldier’s last warcry before a hopeless charge toward death.

Then it launched itself upward.

Violently.

Desperately.

Its wings beat out of rhythm, mist bleeding from every torn vein. It staggered in the air like a crippled predator forcing its body past its limit, drawn helplessly toward the distant glow of the town lights.

Like a moth to flame.

Nana froze.

Her breath hitched.

Her song faltered.

The runic sigils in her eyes began to dim as fear clawed up her spine.

A Diva’s power ran on emotion.

And fear… true fear… didn’t just weaken a Diva’s resonance with her D-Mic.

It pulled a Diva out of sync, cutting her off from the harmony of her team.

“…No.”

Her fingers trembled around her D-Mic.

“The orphanage… the kids… obaa-san… our little world…”

Nana stepped forward, legs shaking, eyes unfocused — then broke into a run.

Running toward the same direction as the Level 4, with whatever strength she had left.

Reina and the others ran after her, but even at full output none could reach her.

Reina’s thoughts spiraled.

Even if they caught up… with what little strength they had…

They couldn’t stop it.

Her mind flickered toward Coda Cantus—

And as if the others sensed her intention, their voices cracked through the forest:

“NO!”

They didn’t stop running.

But their musical tattoos dimmed, all of them dropping into a low-output state, like Divas running on the last bar of battery. Reina dropped her Veil to conserve energy.

Nana kept sprinting.

But no matter how hard she pushed, the Level 4 kept getting farther ahead.

In her mind, she saw—

The butterfly drawings on the orphanage wall.

The playground.

The children laughing around her.

Granny’s soft smile.

Nana’s voice tore out of her chest.

“I WILL NOT LET ANY OF YOU EVER TOUCH MY WORLD!”

The runic sigils in her eyes flared back to life. This time brighter and alive.

Her entire body began to shine — a rising, blistering glow of burning heat.

The tattoos crawled farther across her skin, multiplying and expanding.

Sigils ignited beneath her boots as she ran, each step leaving streaks of fire.

Misaki’s eyes widened, and so did everyone else’s.

Only Reina understood.

“Nana’s resonance… has awakened.”

As if a wave of power surged through her veins, Nana gripped her D-mic and let out a raw, solo song. Her voice rose from trembling embers into a roaring blaze — a small flame swelling continuously until it became a wildfire.

Her determination.

Her will to protect.

Her feelings.

All of it ignited her resonance… and her D-Mic responded to her.

Nana’s entire body burst into a wreath of blazing crimson light, heat distorting the air around her. Flames coiled behind her like wings, yet her uniform didn’t burn.

Sigils ignited beneath her boots, and the fire launched her upward, propelling her into the sky in a single explosive leap.

She shot past the treetops, rising an entire altitude above the crippled Level 4, flame trailing behind her like a burning comet.

Her eyes glowed like molten metal, runic sigils swirling restlessly within.

Mid-air, suspended by the roaring force of her own flames, Nana lifted her left hand, holding her D-Mic to her lips.

“Ars Aria: Solaris Cantus.”

A massive sigil flared across her right hand as she formed a tight fist.

Her Cantus Veil expanded at her chant. The effect can be felt immediately by the others.

Unlike Reina’s crackling lightning aura, Nana’s Veil was heat—

Neither scorching nor violent—

But warm, the kind of heat that carried the feeling of protecting something precious.

A guardian’s fire.

Flames surged around her body, but the blaze around her right fist grew even brighter and hotter. It condensed itself until her entire hand glowed like a miniature sun.

She dropped.

A straight, explosive descent.

One motion.

One strike.

Her fist slammed into the Level 4’s torso, the flames erupting outward in a burst of crimson-gold light that swallowed the monster whole. Nana’s voice rose with the impact, her song becoming sharper and fiercer, feeding the inferno.

As more power gathered around her fist, her punch finally tore straight through the creature’s chest, ripping a molten hole through its burning body where its core had once been,

She descended with the collapsing body. Landing in a low crouch as the Level 4 CODA burned from the inside out. The monster screeched once — then its body crumbled, dissolving into black mist before drifting away like scattered ash.

The surrounding fog faded with it.

The forest exhaled as the sound of crickets returned.

The Level 4 was gone.

Reina and the others finally caught up to Nana.

The glowing flame around Nana faded as her song died. Her tattoos dimmed, her Cantus Veil collapsing softly as she lowered her D-Mic. The last burst of power had drained everything; she was seconds from collapsing.

Reina caught her before her knees hit the dirt.

“Got you.”

The others gathered around them — bruised, scratched, uniforms torn and stained. No one had come out clean.

Momoko let out a shaky laugh.

“O-okay… that was insane.”

Misaki brushed Nana’s hair gently, her voice trembling.

“You… you’re a Cantus Major now. I’m proud of you. You protected our world.”

Tears finally fell from her eyes.

Emiko knelt beside Nana.

“I’d heal you if I could, but we’re all out of mana…” she whispered with an apologetic smile.

Nana’s breath stuttered.

“Did… did I kill it? Did we win…?”

Emi tapped her shoulder gently.

“Yes. We won. Thanks to you.”

Mika just looked at Nana face, too exhausted to speak but smiling.

Takeshi’s voice cut sharply through their earpieces.

“Tempesta Unit, do you read me?”

Reina answered, “We hear you.”

A long exhale followed — relief mixed with disbelief.

“You girls… really did it… The Level 4’s signature is gone. This is the first time Aria Corps has ever eliminated one. Recovery teams are heading to your location now.”

His tone shifted.

“… However, we picked up something else.”

Reina straightened, fatigue instantly forgotten.

“Go on.”

“A resonance signal keeps flickering at the far edge of the forest. The same spot where the Level 4 first manifested. Could be a malfunction… but I can’t risk that. I need one of you to investigate.”

Reina looked at her team — drained, trembling, barely standing.

She bit her lip.

“I’ll go.”

She stood, nodded to them, and motioned for the others to stay put until staff arrived.

Takeshi’s voice hardened.

“Be careful. The system can’t decode the frequency. Someone — or something — is scrambling their resonance.”

Reina followed the broken trail back into the trees, walking deeper and deeper.

Then she saw it.

A silhouette standing behind a tree. The shadow was too humanoid to be a CODA.

Reina was about to step forward when the figure vanished into the darkness.

Reina stared into the space, chest tight, until the distant crunch of approaching recovery teams footsteps reached her.

She exhaled slowly.

The presence was gone. But someone, a human, had been there.